Slytalons
Description Slytalons is elderly but extremely fit for his age. His scales are a shiny black, but reflect a sparkling green like a beetle's shell in the sunlight. He is thin and wiry, and his face is angular and shrewd-looking, though lined with age. He has slitted, bright green eyes with an youthful, mischevious twinkle in them. His posture is alert and defensive, and he moves around in a quick, skittering fasion, almost like a bug trying to hide from the light. Slytalons is a fan of treasure, but rarely wears any of it, besides a simple emerald necklace on occasion. History Slytalon's parents both died of malnourishment on the NightWing island, and he was raised by several different families of NightWings who took turns taking care of him. Slaytalons did not show affection to any particular family, nor did he try to make one his own. He didn't want to belong to anyone, and was a bit of a troublemaker, pulling pranks of epic proportions. He liked to get reactions from other dragons, whether good or bad, and loved to perform for others. The NightWings were a little starved for entertainment, stuck on the island with nothing to do, and needing a distraction form their dull lives, followed Slytalons around, waiting for him to do something interesting. Slytalons happily obliged. He did exceptionally well in school, but got bored easily and was the self-appointed class clown of the group. Then one day, Slytalons told his classmates a disturbing story in which he encountered the ghosts of his parens on his latest hunting outing. He saw the looks of fear on their faces and he was thrilled of it's effect on them. From that point forward, he studied fear, learning how to cause it best. He took extra lessons with Morrowseer, learning how to act convincingly mysterious and terrifying, even more than the average NightWing. He studied under Mastermind as well, learning how to make, and even discovering some new, chemical reactions that almost seemed like magic. He took up residency in a cave shrouded away near the bottom of the cliffs the Night Palace was built on. Any dragon hoping for a thrill or chill could head to the cave and Slytalons, when paid with an extra scrap of food, would tell them terrifying ghost stories, with dazzling effects of smoke and fire. Slytalons loved his job. His favorite effect of all was making green fire. The eerie, flickering light was perfect for tricks on the eyes and making dragons generally uneasy. Perhaps too uneasy. Slytalon's troubles started when he had finished a particularly creepy tale about The Darkstalker to a crowd of eager dragonets. The next day, the smallest of them died. It was possible that he was unhealthy in the first place and died of a natural cause, but on such a small island, rumors spread quickly. It was soon believed that Slytalons had put a curse on the dragonet, that he was an evil animus, that he was the Darkstalker himself, finally back for revenge. The NightWings regarded him with sheer terror in a matter of weeks, and all of them stopped visiting his cave. Whenever he went out in public, they would hide from him. Then one day, when Slytalons was out hunting, he was attacked by another NightWing, the father of the dragonet who died. Slytalons fought for his lie and was nearly killed, before finally managing to blind him with a smoke-bomb (his own invention) and knocking him out with a rock. Slytaons then hurried off to the Night Palace and demanded an audience with Queen Battlewinner. Battlewinner, speaking through her daughter Greatness agreed to hear him. Slytalons told her how he was attacked, how other dragons believed he was a monster, and asked if she could find some way to protect him, or some way to clear his name. Unfortunately, he had left the unconcious father of the dead dragonet lying out in the woods, and he had told everyone what had happened. The whole community was against him now, and Battlewinner knew it. She wanted to make a deal with Slytalons, and this was the perfect opportunity. The NightWings had been faking their powers for centuries, but Slytalnons had taken it further and made it more convincing then any other, but he would not share the ways he performed magic with anyone, which annoyed the Queen very much indeed. With Slytalon's discoveries, the NightWings could be unstoppable, so she gave him a choice. "Reveal to me the secrets of your 'magic,' your illusions, your smoke, your fire, and you will be garunteed my protection over you," Battlewinner said through Greatness, "If you do not, then you will be left to fend for yourself. You are a clever dragon. I think you know the right option." Slytalons narrowed his eyes stubbornly and replied, "'A magician never reveals his secrets." He then flew off, resolved in his decision, packed up his belongings, and fled away from the island before an angry mob could come after him. He traveled to the Pyrrhia mainland and stayed out of sight of other dragons, traveling and surviving. On the way, he ran into other misunderstood dragons, outcast from their Tribes for being weak, or disfigured. Dragons who scared others, who were hated by others. When he finally traveled to a place between SkyWing and MudWing territory, near the Diamond spray delta, he had an army of outcasts, grouped together under him for survival. This place, Grimsdell Woods, a dense thicket leading into a creepy, foggy forest/bog. It was a perfect place for him and his followers, a place where they could be safe. Over the years, Slytalons built a community deep inside the forest, and if any curious dragon dares wander in, he has some very nasty suprises in store for them, that would even send a full-grown SkyWing flying out of there as if it's tail were on fire. Rumors of ghostly figures and terrifying noises encircle the woods, "shows" Slytalons puts on occasionally to garuntee no one comes looking inside. When Slytalons isn't living happily in the forest, he is traveling Pyrrhia in search of other outcasts. They are the group of dragons he has found that he is finally happy to call family, a group that he is happy to belong to. Personality He is accentric, secretive, and highly intelligent. He does not like other dragons to know too much about him or his work. He prefers to appear mysterious and powerful and have others admire him, rather than know him personally. Because of this, he can be a bit of a show-off and smart-aleck. He is a positive, stubborn dragon who does not regret a thing he does and does not let his age slow him down a bit. He has a kind side and has taken many dragons no one wanted under his wing. His greatest fault his his fierce pride. He tends to think of himself as better than others, especially NightWings, but also heavily relies on others and what they think of him. His self-esteem relies on them, and because of that he tries a bit too hard to please, terrify, or amaze, the dragons he comes across. Abilities Can make smoke bombs and several different colors and blasts of fire, green being his favorite. He is very good at not being seen. He is very fast and strong, and is a decent fighter, but is not as young as he once was. He prefers to scare off his opponents rather than fight them directly. With illusions and sleight of talon, he can appear to have magical abilities. His story telling skills are almost unmatched. He has great leadership abilities, and dragons tend to follow him. He is an excellent, convincing actor. Strengths/Weaknesses Strenghts: Good leader, compassionate, great illusionist, very smart, good at sneaking around, loyal, positive Weaknesses: Prideful, stubborn, sensitive, cagey Trivia Slytalons is loosely based off of several characters from books and movies including Malcolm from the Ranger's Apprentice series and Zugor from Tarzan 2. He was inspired by the Shadow Trees of the Aesthetic OC contest. Info box: Category:Characters Category:Work In Progress Category:NightWings Category:Males Category:Characters Inspired by Fiction Category:Content (Comicwing)